It appears that the extent of Steve Jobs' health problems were greater than what was previously released to the public. Earlier this month, Jobs released a statement to the Apple community detailing his battle a hormone imbalance which caused him to lose weight.

At the time, Jobs stated that he would step aside should he feel that he could no longer serve as Apple's CEO. It appears that the day is here as Steve Jobs announced in a letter to Apple employees that he leave his day-to-day workload to focus on his health. Tim Cook will step in to fill Jobs' large shoes in his absence. Here is Jobs' letter in its entirety:

Team,

I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

Steve

We won't delve into conspiracy theories about Jobs' health or who knew what when, but the whole DailyTech team wishes him the best in his road to recovery. And when June rolls around, we will gladly welcome him back into the news circuit complete with his black turtleneck, jeans, and tennis shoes.